Welp, looks like Nancy Pelosi doesn't have a problem with Joe Biden bypassing Congress on student loan debt after all

Sarah D | 3:10 PM on August 24, 2022

Earlier today, we took a fun stroll down Memory Lane back to April of this year, when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the president doesn’t have the authority to bypass Congress and cancel any student loan debt.

Pelosi 1 year ago:

"People think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness. He does not. He can postpone, he can delay, but he does not have that power."https://t.co/sCFMGVFH18

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) August 24, 2022

A few choice bits from Pelosi’s remarks back then:

In her remarks today, Pelosi also questioned whether student loan cancellation was even prudent, arguing that taxpayers may not necessarily want their tax dollars utilized to cancel someone else’s debt, suggesting that she may not even support mass student loan forgiveness in a Congressional bill, should Biden not act using his executive authority.

…

“People think that the President of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness,” she said. “He does not. He can postpone, he can delay, but he does not have that power.” Pelosi argued that student loan forgiveness can only be accomplished through “an act of Congress.”

Boy, wouldn’t it be something if she came out today and told Joe Biden in no uncertain terms that he’s acting beyond the scope of the executive branch, like Dem Rep. Chris Pappas did? It would definitely be something.

Looks like it’s going to be something that’s not gonna happen, though:

Pelosi yesterday:

"Well, we're excited about the president, because we didn't know what — what authority the president had to do this. And now clearly, it seems he has the authority to do this: $10,000 for those … making under $125,000 a year."https://t.co/6UJGIW4DU3

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) August 24, 2022

Here are her full remarks concerning student loan debt cancellation yesterday:

“Well, we’re excited about the President, because we didn’t know what – what authority the President had to do this. And now clearly, it seems he has the authority to do this: $10,000 for those with the debt, those making under $125,000 a year. So we’re optimistic about what might happen tomorrow. We don’t have any heads up on it, though. But it’s really important, because this is an obstacle to entrepreneurship for young people coming out of school. It’s an obstacle for buying a home or moving out of their parents’ home or getting married. This is a stumbling block for many young people, and we want to reduce that. And now, it appears that the President will have that authority.”

“The president will have that authority” … based on an insanely loose interpretation of a post-9/11 law:

How's he doing it?

Biden is employing a post-9/11 law that allows for debt cancelation "in connection with a war or other military operation or national emergency."

Which emergency? "[T]he present COVID-19 pandemic," per a Dept of Ed memo issued yesterday.

h/t @kathrynw5.

— Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) August 24, 2022

Our expectations for you were already low, Nancy, but you managed to be even worse.